Pokemon Trainers
by Tatsukage
Summary: This is a story I come up with while playing Mystery Dungeon and watching Rise of Darkrai. This is a joint effort by me and my friend so this was a very interesting new writing style for me. Lycanus is mine, Socoro his, Pokemon to The Pokemon Company.
1. Chapter 1

Lycanus walked through Viridian Forest, continuing on his search for Darkrai. It wasn't as much that he wanted to catch the dark Pokemon, so much as it was out of control and he was sent to stop it. He had recieved small clues and hints from the lirbrary in Canalave as to where it could be found, but these were all enigmatic and pointed at several places at once. He had found small hints along a rarely used path that told him he was going in the right direction. A Rattata twitching from feverish nightmares here, a Pidgey doing likewise there. It was high noon, but it was as dark as midnight. He was getting close.  
Lycanus stood at an even six feet, wearing blue jeans, a t-shirt, combat boots, and a black trenchcoat that came down to his knees. Completing his style of dress are a pair of dark sunglasses hanging from his shirt's collar and a cowboy hat. There were only two Pokeballs attached to his belt. One had a wolf's head engraved on it, and the other a sea serpent. Lycanus kept one hand on what he called his 'Wolfball', not knowing when they were going to meet the demonic Pokemon, and wanting to be prepared in any event.  
He trudged along in silence, hoping to find Darkrai off guard. Unfortunately, the farther he went, the darker it got. If this kept up, he wouldn't be able to see at all. Lycanus released his Lucario from the Wolfball and filled him in on what had happened until now. "You're still better than I am at using Aura. Can you see anything?" Lycanus whisperd to Lucario. He had Lucario teach him how to use Aura, and he had the basics down, but he would never be anywhere near Lucario's level.  
Lucario closed his eyes and looked out into the forest, seeing the Aura in all the things around them. After a while, he opened them again and shook his head. _'I'm afraid not, Master.'_ he responded telepathicly. _'However, it seems as though the sleeping Pokemon grow more numerous if we go farther that way,'_ he said as he pointed down a side path barely noticable in the deepening shadows.  
"Thanks," Lycanus said as he tried to peer down it. He couldn't see anything down the barely lit path, and he could only see a few feet down on top of that. "Care to lead the way?" he asked Lucario with an unseeable grin. He always had some sort of amused expression on his face; whether it was a grin, a smirk, or an actual smile, his face was cracked in some fashion.  
The Aura Pokemon nodded, and his eyes went from the usual crimson to a glowing, golden yellow as he reached out with his Aura. _'Of course, Master.'_ Lucario began walking down the path slowly, not wanting to get too far ahead of Lycanus. Lycanus began to do likewise, but the glow was so faint that it only turned his normally blue eyes green. The pair edged slowly into the deepest part of the forest, constantly scanning the surrounding area for any sign of Darkrai.

_'I wonder if Socoro's having any better luck,'_ Lycanus thought to himself. They had split up and gone two separate directions. Lycanus was heading south from Pewter, and Socoro was heading north from  
Viridian. He was getting close to the half-way point, so he should be meeting up with Socoro pretty soon.

****

Socoro stood outside the Viridian City Gym, pounding on the door, oblivious to the sign that clearly said 'CLOSED'. A Weavile stands nearby, toying with a Rattata, bored out of its mind. "Let me in! I know you're in there!" The Weavile grabs Socoro's wrist and looks at the watch. They had been standing out here for half an hour, and Socoro showed no sign of leaving any time soon. His style of dress was even more plain than Lycanus's. Socoro wore a black hoodie with 'I LOVE SHINOBI' in white lettering, blue jeans, and tennis shoes.

"Weavile!" the annoyed Pokemon said at last. "Wea Weavile!" He pointed at a sign that hung near the door and made a slashing motion across his neck.  
"Huh?" Socoro finally turns his head so that he can see the sign. "Well that sucks. Oh well. It's not like the guy's part of some evil organization and he's out trying to take over the world or anything. I guess we should go meet up with Lycanus now." Socoro returns Weavile to his Pokeball and heads north to exit the town.

****

One thing to say about Lycanus, is his stamina sucked. That said, after about twenty minutes of wandering the winding side path his ability to use Aura was depleted. He was now completely blind and following Lucario by the sound of his footsteps. For some reason, despite the warmth his coat provided, he was shivering. "See anything?" Lycanus whispered. In the stillness his voice still seemed devastatingly loud.  
'No, Master. Its almost as if Darkrai-' Almost in response to the name, a shadowy arm erupted from Lycanus's coat and slamed into Lucario's back with a Dark Void. Lucario dropped to the ground, twitching with the same nightmares as the rest of the sleeping Pokemon in the forest. Darkrai flew out of Lycanus's trenchcoat and into the darkness before them.  
Lycanus rushed to his fallen comrade's side. "Lucario! Are you OK?" Lucario remained silent except for the occasional growl caused by whatever hellish nightmare Darkrai induced. Lycanus heaved Lucario up and on one of his shoulders to carry him. He wasn't sure if it was just an adrenaline rush or if it was something else, but Lucario was as light as a feather. On top of that, his clothes were starting to feel loose and ill-fitted. He put it all aside. His minor discomfort and newfound strength could wait until Lucario was safe.

****

Socoro paced back and forth in rage, practically pulling his hair out. He had challenged a Bug Trainer and was now regretting it. The Bug Trainer's Butterfree was hitting Socoro's Weavile with every concievable status effect it could. It had used Stun Spore, Poison Powder, and Sleep Powder, and it was now pelting him with constant Gusts. Socoro stormed over to a thin tree and kicked it, and woke up a small hive of Beedrill. Weavile, groggy, sore, and numb, finally woke up and climbed up shakily to his feet. Socoro ran by, grabbed Weavile's hand and drug him along confused as hell.  
Socoro ran through the forest, constantly being chased by the swarm behind him, when suddenly, they broke off the chase. It was as if they didn't dare get any closer than that, and they returned to their hive. It was now pitch dark outside, and the farther Socoro and Weavile went, the darker it got. Even he was smart enough to realize he was getting close to Darkrai. They crept cautiously now, and Weavile was slowly recovering from the battle. Ten minutes had passed, and he hadn't seen so much as a Caterpie. Suddenly, a shadow shot forward, nailing the confused Weavile in the forhead with a Dark Void and vanishing as quickly as it came.  
Socoro tossed his other Pokeball and summoned Blaziken. "Darkrai went that way! Don't let it get away!" he yelled as he pointed down the path. Blaziken sprinted down the path, giving off a bit of illumination as he went. Socoro turned to tend to his fallen partner. He picks up Weavile and carries him farther down the path, away from Darkrai. As he went, Weavile began to grow heavier and his clothes looser and baggier. Eventually Weavile got too heavy for him to carry and his clothes too difficult to move in and he stopped to wait for Blaziken to get back. After a few minutes passed, Blaziken's familiar glow could be seen coming up in the distance. From the other direction, he heard awkward footsteps making their way forward.  
As the footseps approached, Socoro could hear Lycanus talking. _'Rasn-frasn Darkrai. Hide in my jacket and ambush Lucario like that, will it? I oughta' beat its face in.'_ Lycanus arrived in the small clearing, supporting his Lucario. 'Uh, Socoro?' Lycanus said hesitantly when he looked up. _'You look different.'_ Lycanus's voice sounded a little harsher, and it sounded more like it was coming from inside Socoro's head than from Lycanus's mouth. _'I know Weavile is your favorite Pokemon and everything, but turning into one is taking it a little far.'_  
Socoro looked at Lycanus in confusion. Thanks to the high collar of Lycanus's trenchcoat and the wide brim of his cowboy hat, the shadows were still to dark to see Lycanus's face, but his style of dress was unmistakable, sort of. His clothes were much baggier in some areas and much tighter in other places. Socoro looked down at himself and noticed that his clothes were in the same state as Lycanus's. And then he saw the claws. "This is not good," he said, suddenly not liking what was happening. "What  
happened to Lucario?"  
_'Darkrai cheap-shotted him and ran off,'_ Lycanus said with simmering anger. _'Looks like it did the same thing to Weavile.'_ Lycanus took off his hat to scratch his head, and finally felt his new ears. _'Blast hat hair and the way it itches,'_ he said as he tried to smooth them down.

Socoro put his new clawed hand to his mouth to stifle some laughter. "I don't think that's hat hair. Those are ears." The shadows had begun to slowly lift as Darkrai fled the area and went on to parts unknown. "It looks like I'm not the only one who's become my favorite Pokemon."  
Lycanus reached up and touched his ears, and then his face, and then looked at his hands. _'This is not good,'_ he echoed Socoro. A look of realization crossed his face after a moment of thinking. _'Or, this could be totally awesome. But first, we need to get to a Pokemon Center.'_ He returned the thrashing Lucario to his Pokeball and placed it on it's clip on his belt. _'There's no telling what Darkrai did to our Pokemon, or to us for that matter.'_ Lycanus pulled out a pocketknife and cut a small hole in the back of his pants for his new tail, tightened his belt, and buttoned up his trenchcoat which now hung down to his ankles.  
Socoro carefully did likewise with Weavile. Carefully, not because he didn't want to harm Weavile, but because he now had claws instead of fingers and he didn't want to accidentally destroy the Pokeball. "This is going to take some getting used to." A burst  
of fire flew over their heads as he finished saying this. "And that would be Blaziken."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

Blaziken tore into the small clearing like a demon on crack. "Where are they?" he demanded. "What did you do with them?" Blaziken didn't give them a chance to answer. Not that they could. They were too dumb- founded to respond with the discovery that they could understand him. Blaziken took a deep breath and unleashed another Flamethrower.

They both barely dodged this as the barrel of fire tore over their heads. "Blaziken, it's me! Socoro!"

"Liar!" Blaziken lunged forward with a Double Kick that toppled a tree when Lycanus leapt from the area, and then Blaziken followed upwith an Arial Ace that connected with Lycanus's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

The second Lycanus landed, he tore across the open ground to get some distance from Blaziken at blinding speed. _'It's no good. He won't listen to anything we say. We'll have to knock him out.' _A bluish flame surrounded Lycanus's hands as he prepared to fight back. _'OK, that's new.' _As soon as he stopped focusing on the battle, the fire extinguished itself. _'Bad, bad, bad, bad. How did Lucario do it?'_

Socoro shook his head. "I can't. I won't attack Blaziken." Blaziken was on top of him in an instant. He put one hand on each of Socoro's shoulders and slammed his forehead into Socoro's. "Brick Break. That one hurt..." Socoro staggered back in a daze, trying to clear his swimming vision.

_'Fine then,' _Lycanus said determinedly._ 'I'll do it.' _Lycanus sprinted forward, urging his body to move faster than it ever had. In the blink of an eye, Lycanus was on top of Blaziken. Now standing a foot shorter than Blaziken, his clothesline connected with Blaziken's gut and caused him to double over, then he used a Force Palm that sent Blaziken's head back up and caused him to stagger back. Lycanus was almost out of steam. He didn't have the stamina to keep this up anywhere near as long as a real Lucario, but if he didn't, Blaziken was going to beat them to a bloody pulp, or worse. Lycanus forced the exhaustion from his mind and charged forward again, this time connecting with a double Force Palm to Blaziken's gut that sent him flying backwards and into a tree.

Blaziken tried moving, but his body betrayed him. He took one step forward, and his leg gave out and he fell to the ground barely conscious. "Blaziken," Socoro said finally. "It really is us. Remember? We were sent to search for Darkrai. While you were gone, whatever it did to our Pokemon somehow turned us into them. Besides, if I was attacked by a Weavile, don't you think I'd be smart enough to call you out?"

Blaziken managed to prop himself up on one arm and look deep in Sococo's eyes. "Socoro, you moron." With that, Blaziken passes out with somewhat of a smile on his face.

Lycanus droped to one knee, panting for breath. _'We're going to have to find some easier way to do this,'_ he said. _'I don't even want to know what it's going to be like with Gyarados.'_ Lycanus rose unsteadily to one foot, and scanned the ground for his hat. He dusted it off and put it on, carefully maneuvering it past his ears. Out of force of habit, he unsuccessfully snapped his fingers, then muttered something about how difficult it was going to be to hold things from now on. He took off his backpack and started digging around. _'Where is it? Ah-ha! Here it is.' _Lycanus pulled out a Ninetails-based ninja mask from the backpack and put that on as well. _'That'll hide my new face. Luckily it has an elastic band instead of a couple of strings to tie. I don't think I can tie my shoes anymore.' _He turned to face Socoro. _'How do I look?'_

Socoro called Blaziken back into his Pokeball. "Like a Lucario trying to disguise himself as a human and wearing a Ninetails mask. Your hands... paws... whatever it is you have, kind of give it away, so do the dreadlock-looking things on the back of your head, and so does your tail."

_'There's not much I can do about these at the moment,' _said Lycanus as he held his hands up for Socoro to see. _'The only thing I can do is stick my hands in my pockets.' _He looked at his tail, which stood straight out through the tails of his trenchcoat. _'I think I need my tail for balance, so that stays as is. As for the dreadlock-looking things, I think those are tied in with my Aura. I'll just have to get something to cover up the back of my head.' _He looked around the forest, then down to the Pokeball at his waist. _'We need to get Lucario and Weavile to a Pokemon Center. We're closer to Viridian, so we should head there first.'_

The pair of former humans began walking back the way Socoro had come, both pondering what would become of them. Lycanus had to get used to using his tail to balance while walking in boots that were now several sizes too large. Socoro had his own center of gravity issues to deal with. Where as Lycanus's body wanted to lean forward, Socoro's body wanted to lean whatever direction his head was tilted.

The two of them quickly adjusted to their new bodies, and walking this way had become second nature. _'You got any ideas of what happened to us?'_ Lycanus asked Socoro _'Or better yet, how to reverse it?'_

"Not a clue. Do you have any idea on what we do next?"

_'We take down Darkrai.'_ That went without saying, but somehow it made Lycanus feel better. _'Then we make it fix what he did to us and our Pokemon.'_ There was an edge to Lycanus's now-telepathic voice that nearly bordered on bloodlust. This quieted down the pair for a bit, now that they actually realized the monumental task set before them. Lycanus seemed more subdued now that he thought about it. _'For now, though, let's just worry about Lucario and Weavile.'_

****

About an hour later, the duo emerged from beneath the canopy of leaves in Viridian City. The few townspeople out at this time of day didn't quite know what to make of the two as they headed to the Pokemon Center. Lycanus did his best to walk without his tail showing, but that caused some stumbling, and Socoro tried unsuccessfully to look like he wasn't a Weavile doing drugs. They walked in silence, not wanting to cause any more trouble than neccessary, since Lycanus would sound like a psychic and Socoro like a circus side-show. They walked into the red-roofed building to the counter and rang the bell. "Good afternoon," said the Nurse Joy behind the counter. "Are you here to heal your Pokemon?" Lycanus nodded and placed both his and Socoro's Pokeballs on the counter. Thankfully, his sleeves were now way too long and they came down far past his paws. "Just a moment. I'll see what I can do."

_'So now we wait,'_ Lycanus said quietly to Socoro. They went over to a nearby bench and sat down to wait. About ten minutes later, Nurse Joy came back out.

"If I may ask, were your Lucario and Weavile attacked by a Darkrai?" Lycanus nodded in the affirmative. "Unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done for them at the moment. To be perfectly honest, I've never seen anything like it. They still have traces of Darkrai's Dark Void surrounding them. It was as if their bodies absorbed the attack and held on to the energy rather than disperse it. I'm sorry to say, it could be months before they wake up at the rate their bodies are using the energy." Both Lycanus and Socoro looked suddenly crushed. "The good news is that other than that, they are in perfect health." She handed the two Pokeballs back to Lycanus and gave a slight bow. "You have my deepest appologies. I'm sorry we couldn't do anything for them. Thankfully though, the Dark Void is somehow sustaining them. They won't need much care for the next few months. Please come back and see us if their condition worsens."

Lycanus nodded and gave Nurse Joy a slight bow in return and turned to leave. As he did so, he caught Socoro staring at Nurse Joy's chest. Lycanus truly enjoyed speaking telepathically: Only the people he wanted to hear him could hear him. _'Socoro, stop staring at her boobs.'_ He put a hand on Socoro's shoulder and began herding him to the exit. _'If she wasn't here right now I'd smack the back of your head.'_

"Fine, whatever," Socoro responded distantly after he is led out the front door. "Where to now? We can't exactly go back with our mission going to pot, Darkrai still on the loose, and us turned into Pokemon."

_'I suggest we see how we compare to some of the local Gym Leaders before we go after Darkrai.'_

They started to walk by a Pokemart when Socoro stopped the two of them. "I'll be right back." He ran in and disappeared for a few moments. Later, he came running up to Lycanus wearing a bright blue raincoat, bright red rain boots, and a bright yellow rain hat. "How do I look?"

Now it was Lycanus's turn to answer sarcastically. _'Like Paddington Bear.'_ Lycanus began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Socoro asked Lycanus as he ran after him. "What about the Gym right here?"

Lycanus kept walking. _'It's closed. The sign says it's closed in bright, bold, red letters. What are you blind?'_

"No, I'm just not paying attention to it." They pair were drawing far less stares than they were before, mostly because most, if not all, of their Pokemon features were now covered by loose, oversized clothing.

_'Anyways, I saw that the Pewter City Gym is open. Brock uses rock and ground types so we should have an easy time there perfecting our styles of combat. If we can't take down his Pokemon, then we'll know we're no match for Darkrai.'_ The two of them waited until they had gotten out of town and behind a tree, then pulled off their boots and backpacks. They dug out several pairs of socks and lined the inside of their boots with them. When they were done, they put the newly adjusted boots on and took a few experimental steps to make sure they had gotten it right. When they were satisfied, they put their backpacks back on and continued on down the path towards Pewter. _'We should get there by nightfall,'_ Lycanus said with certainty.


End file.
